For a few moments, Gabriel doesn't say anything; he's just staring at my back where the inked lines form wings.
"Wow…" he murmurs. I look at him over my shoulder a bit, and his gape turns into a grin. "That's awesome, Cassie!"
"It's Cas now."
"Whatever you say, Cassie. What made you want to do angel wings anyway?" he asked curiously. I pull my shirt back on over my body and turn around to look at him.
"I'm not quite sure. I think it has to do with how I felt when I was jumping. As if I was flying. Almost."
He looks like he's about to say something else, but he's cut off when Dean comes bounding up to us with Sam following close behind. He has an excited grin on his face, and I can tell he's anxious to see my tattoo.
"So, what did you get?" he asks eagerly.
"I'll show you, but first I want to see you're two tattoos," I say, causing him to emit an impatient groan.
"Alright, fine, fine." He pulls off his shirt, revealing a strange mark on his left bicep. It's a star with strange wavy lines coming out from all around it, almost like flames. He notices my confusion at the odd symbol and is quick to explain. "It's supposed to be an anti-possession mark. Our dad told us stories about ghosts and monsters, and demons. Obviously, they're not real, but he had a tattoo just like this, and so did our mom. So I got one too."
"What is it supposed to do?" I ask.
"Well, theoretically, if a demon tried to possess you, and you had this tattoo, it wouldn't be able to. But since that's all fictional, it's just a damn cool looking tattoo."
"Does Sam have one as well?" I ask, looking towards the younger boy. His face lights up and he pulls off his own shirt, revealing a tattoo identical to his brother's, and in the same place on his body as well.
"Just got it a few minutes ago," he says proudly. I smile and look back at Dean.
"What's your other tattoo?" I ask.
He turns so that I can see his arm. He rolls up the sleeve, fully revealing the inked design of a skull on his bicep. There are designs of fire surrounding the skull, and I wonder if they mean anything.
"Why the flames?"
"Um…" he looks down at the floor slightly, and I can tell I've rubbed salt on an old wound. Hopefully not much salt. "I just thought it, um, looked cool."
I can tell he's lying, covering up the real story, but I don't push him any further.
"Well, I'm waiting!" he says while pulling on his shirt. I notice Sam has done the same. I tilt my head slightly in confusion, not sure what he means. He laughs at my confusion and crosses his arms, a happy glint in his bright green eyes. "You're tattoo, Cas. Lemme see it."
"O-oh," I stammer, a pink blush creeping up my neck. I turn quickly and lift the shirt over my head, suddenly self-conscious of my body. It's fine around Gabriel, since he's my brother, after all. But with Dean, I suddenly for some reason feel the need to not look as pathetic. He has a well-built body and muscles. I'm much skinnier and my muscles aren't nearly as noticeable. I drop my shirt to the floor and lift my arms, as if I'm spreading feathery, white wings. I feel myself tense under his gaze, and I look over my shoulder slightly to see his reaction. He's just standing there, staring at my back. I can't tell if he's staring at my tattoo in awe, or staring at my back thinking negative thoughts.
We stand like that for a long time, and he doesn't say a word.
"Um, do you like it?" I ask timidly, and he seems startled.
"Hm? Oh, definitely," he replies with a grin. "It's really cool, Cas. I like it a lot."
I smile and pull my shirt back on, covering up most of the ink, but still leaving the tips of the wings visible. I spot Gabriel a few feet away, his sleeve once again rolled back up, showing his snake tattoo to Sam. Sam is tracing the design of the snake lightly, and Gabriel says something. Sam laughs and says something else, which makes Gabriel smile. I have a feeling they're going to be good friends.
Dean starts over towards them, and I follow along. They look up and stop their conversation when we approach them.
"Cas, I like your tattoo," Sam says with a smile. I smile at his compliment.
"Thank you," I answer.
"So, guys, what was it like in Abnegation?" Dean asks eagerly. Gabriel and I shared a glance before both answering with "Boring." Gabriel puts much more emphasis on the word.
"Details, please!" Dean laughs.
"Well, we always have to wear grey, which I kind of a drag," Gabriel whines.
"If there's an older person who needs a seat, if you don't give up your own, people will look at you like you're the most evil person in the world," I inform.
Dean whistles. " I do not want to live there," he says pointedly. I nod with a slight smile.
"Yep, it's in the job description," Gabriel laughs. "You can't even talk out of turn." He makes air quotes with his fingers around "out of turn."
We exchange stories from our own factions until we have to go to bed. Sadly, Sam and Dean cannot sleep in the same room as us. The room we sleep in is only for transfers.
"Night, guys," Dean says with a wave as we part our ways.
"Good night, Dean."